Abstract
BackgroundThe last two decades have seen tremendous changes in the U.S. environment surrounding drugs. Driving under the influence of drugs is a growing public health hazard. The present study examined trends in drug involvement in fatally-injured drivers in the U.S.MethodsData were drawn from the 2007–2017 Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Cochran–Armitage tests were performed to assess the statistical significance of changes in the yearly prevalence of positive drug tests in fatally-injured drivers over time. In addition, analyses were stratified by sex, race, and age.ResultsThe yearly prevalence of positive drug tests in fatally-injured drivers increased significantly from 20.7% in 2007 to 30.7% in 2017, with results showing a higher prevalence among males, those aged 21–44, and Whites. The gap between Blacks and Whites narrowed in 2017. There was a decline in the yearly prevalence in all age groups between 2016 and 2017, although the decrease in the 21–44 age group was much smaller than other age groups. Among drivers who tested positive for drugs, 34.6% had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above the threshold of per se evidence for impaired driving, and 63% had a BAC below the threshold.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the overall yearly prevalence of fatally-injured drivers who tested positive for drugs increased significantly from 2007 to 2017, with similar results found for subgroups. Findings further highlight that drugged driving remains a public health priority, and more action is needed to stem this disturbing trend.
Highlights
The last two decades have seen tremendous changes in the U.S environment surrounding drugs
The yearly prevalence of the three-drug test types is shown in Table 2 for those drivers who died within 1 h of crashing for each year from 2007through 2017
Among drivers who tested positive for drugs in 2017, 63% had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) below the threshold of per se evidence for impaired driving, and 34.6% had a BAC above the threshold
Summary
The last two decades have seen tremendous changes in the U.S environment surrounding drugs. Opioid prescriptions have increased significantly in the last three decades, with hydrocodone more than doubling and oxycodone increasing over five-fold from 1999 to 2011 [2]. Heroin, another highly addictive opioid, has seen increases across both men and women, most age groups, and all income levels [3]. An estimated 12.8 million people aged 16 or older in the U.S drove under the influence of substances (i.e. marijuana, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or methamphetamine) in 2017 [5], and motor vehicle crashes are a major contributing factor to unintentional injury mortality in the United States [6]
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